Wholesalers of goods and products, such as Liz Claiborne, often transport their merchandise from a manufacturing facility to a distribution center or warehouse. At the distribution warehouse, the merchandise is separated and sorted according to the inventory needs of individual store locations. Movable conveyance systems, such as conveyor belts and overhead hanging garment conveyance systems, are often utilized to efficiently move products through the distribution warehouse, route products through the system to storage or processing areas, and sort the products according to a company's prescribed needs. The merchandise is generally grouped in a systematic fashion (for example, all the merchandise being transported to a particular store is grouped together) and then placed on a trolley, or inside some other carrier like a bin, tote, box, carton, pallet or barrel, before being inducted into the movable conveyance system. The system transports those carriers to a fixed location in the warehouse to processing, storage, and staging areas where they await loading onto a truck for transportation to their individual store destinations.
Such article-sorting systems are generally known in the art. There are many examples of sorting systems for specific types of articles. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,884,370 and 4,106,636 disclose systems for sorting letters and other flat articles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,822 discloses a system for sorting garments using bar codes. However, these systems generally require centralized programmable logic controllers (PLC's), or microprocessor control systems to control and direct the flow of products through the distribution warehouse. The requirement of a centralized control system often increases the product cost of the conveyance and sorting systems and increases the amount of human labor required to run the system. Additionally, existing systems do not generally allow for the flexibility that a non-centralized system can accommodate.
What is needed therefore, is a system that can effectively route and direct, with a high degree of accuracy, and in a cost efficient manner, trolleys and other carriers that utilize a moveable conveyance system.